Through a major donation from Mogollon Health Alliance (MHA), the Rim Country Literacy Program (RCLP) is purchasing the Stech-Vaughn GED software and textbooks for 35 students. The site location for use of the software will be the Julia Randall Elementary School computer lab.

A number of years ago I was approached by my 6- and 7-year-old children with a plea for me to take them to the new Batman movie. I was not concerned about the movie being too violent after all, I had grown up watching Batman on television.

Many senior citizens look forward to their retirement as a time to travel, to visit their children or grandchildren, or just to slow down a bit and spend time doing the things they want to do.Sometimes, however, the thing some seniors wish to do is to continue working.

From a cemetery in Carbondale, Ill., where an inscription on a stone states that the first Decoration Day ceremony took place there on April 29, 1866, to flag-filled Pioneer Cemetery in Payson, Americans gathered to pay their respects and to remember the nation's fallen veterans on Sunday.

Payson High School baseball coach Teddy Pettet, who this season led the Longhorns to the state championship, has been honored as "Coach of the Year" by a Phoenix newspaper and a state coaching association.

The summer swim season officially dives in this Memorial Day weekend at Taylor Pool with open swimming sessions slated for 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Admission for each session is $1 per person.

On Christmas Eve 1944, 2,000 men of the U.S. Army 66th Infantry Division, known as the Black Panthers, boarded a ship to cross the English channel. The ship, the Loldville, was a Belgian liner that had been converted to a troop transport vessel during the war.

The $27.5 million proposed budget for 1999-2000 presented to the Payson Town Council by Town Manager Rich Underkofler is full of checks and balances checks to be written for expenditures carefully balanced against the town's expected revenues, grant moneys, and savings from the current budget.

There seems to be a lot of controversy regarding the geese in Payson West, so here's some input about Green Valley park. In the last few years there has been a marked increase in the number of waterfowl here and droppings not only have covered the grass, but the sidewalk as well.

It is sometimes comical and more often frustrating to watch a quiet neighborhood get into simplistic arguments over "deterring geese" versus "cost of grass seed" after so many years of ongoing establishment of what we homeowners call our "resident geese."

This morning I read "My View" on the editorial page of the Friday, May 21 edition of the Payson Roundup. As I read it, I could feel a chill running down my back. I could feel the thrill of anticipation as Larry Potvin was given the credit due him for his worthy undertakings. What next?

In light of the tragedies developing from our children acting out in ways that seem to say they are screaming for help, you'd think our community newspaper would give a great deal of credence to an event held specifically to provide a day of fun and enlightenment for both children and parents.

The good news coming out of last weekend's Gary Hardt Memorial Pro Rodeo was that cowboys pocketed more than $18,000 in prize money and no one was seriously hurt or injured during the two days of wild and woolly action.

When Income Tax Day came around this year, and I contemplated how much of my income was going to Washington, I became curious. Which branch of the government, that I pay taxes to, was most out of control?

Continued dry conditions, high fire danger, and the expected increase of forest visitors during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend have resulted in implementation of fire restrictions effective today (Tuesday) for the Tonto National Forest.

Less than a year ago I was thrilled to hear we at long last would have a place to haul our recyclable items such as newspaper, cardboard, tin cans, copper wire, etc, etc, etc. Community Recycling seemed like an answer to the longtime wishes of many environmentally conscious residents of Payson and surrounding communities.

John Calderwood was scratching his head trying to figure out what the Payson Men's Golf Association tournament director was thinking when he called for a "three clubs" tournament played May 14 on the Payson Golf course.

Tuesday evening my wife and I attended the spring concert presented by the Payson High School chorus and band. We thoroughly enjoyed the performance, which included such faith-inspiring songs as "Amazing Grace," "Christ, Be Thine the Glory" and "Sing Joy."

What does the word "Mazatzal" mean to you? To me, when I hear the word, I think of the range of mountains that run south and west of Payson. The same goes for the Rim. They are geographical locations, not businesses. If some businesses are named after them, oh well.

Payson High School Athletic Director Barry Smith had plenty of reasons to smile Saturday afternoon as he watched the Longhorn baseball team whip Cactus Shadows in the final game of the state tournament.

Over the PA system, the sounds of Queens' rock-opera hit "We Are the Champions" filled the stadium. From the dugout, someone shouted, "The fat lady has sung." On the field, players dog-piled one another in unbridled enthusiasm. In the stands, fans hooted and hollered as if they were holding the winning lottery tickets.

Outscoring Safford 168-157 Saturday evening on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, the Lady Longhorn track and field team put an end to the Bulldogs' national record, 12-year reign as state champions.

Kelly Udall, Payson's personnel services director, earned the right to pucker up for Special Olympics Friday after winning the town's kiss-the-donkey contest in a down-to-the-wire fund-raising runoff with Payson Fire Chief John Ross.

With less than two dozen employees on site a small staff compared to other plants around the state the crew from the Northern Gila County Sanitary District has once again proven itself to be an effective player in the sanitation business.

Association certifies school's standards

The nine students who will graduate Wednesday from Payson Center for Success, Payson's alternative high school, will be the first in the school's three-year history to receive diplomas with national accreditation.

It appears as though the prestige of our rodeo is going on the block for a quarter of a million dollars. I am sure that the ghosts of long-gone cowboys will be happy to know that what they put into making it a notable event, each year, is now only worth about the amount of prize money won annually.

The plan to line Payson's main highway with red, white and blue banners continues, as Town Council member Ray Schum and Flag Committee spokesperson Lee Pretsch continue to solicit support for the Beeline banners.

After finishing fourth in the final standings of the Grand Canyon State Classic motorcycle racing series, 17-year-old Jimmy Vickers jumped to the just-beginning Summer Gold circuit and rode his way to first and third place finishes.

Refusing to fall by the wayside when the Arizona Baseball Coaches' Association dropped them from the top-10 ranking they'd held most of season, the Payson Longhorns reached the prep-baseball's state tournament elite final four, with an 8-0 win over River Valley and a 5-4 triumph over Safford.

State consumers' office steps into water rate issue

The state's Residential Utility Consumers Office (RUCO) has decided to look into a proposed water rate increase for Brooke Utilities' customers in the Rim country, a decision that was based in part on an overwhelming response from the public.

Eric Santana, director of the Second Annual Partners in Football Golf Tournament, has been told that two of the Arizona Cardinal players to be participating in the benefit at Payson Golf Course are kicker Joe Nedney and center Mike Devlin.

The Payson Grays senior softball team opted not to participate in the second edition of the Rim Country Senior Softball Championships and will not be eligible to win the overall tournament crown when it is awarded June 12 and 13.

The anxious anticipation of earning a prized berth to the state track and field tournament will be driving PHS team members to the brink as they labor through the Central Division championships today and tomorrow, Friday and Saturday, at Arizona Boy's Ranch in Queen Creek.

The Longhorns baseball team finally attained it's season-long goal of a berth in the Class 3A Arizona State tournament thanks to a 11-5 playoff victory over Fountain Hills Tuesday afternoon in Gilbert.

By virtue of a third-place finish in the Central Division tournament, the Longhorns golf team qualified a contingent of five athletes for the state championships May 11 and 12 at Dove Valley Ranch in Cave Creek.

With the stroke of her pen endorsing a measure passed by the Arizona Legislature, Gov. Jane Hull has put to rest the Town of Payson's plan to use tax increment financing to spur the redevelopment of the Main Street area. (See related story.)

While it is the clean-cut obligation of the federal government to protect our nation's borders from the illegal incursion of immigrants and drugs, it is naive to think that the ruling class will act to effectively plug the flow of either

Wild Flower trek 'a little cold, but a good race'

Nolan Blalock dominated the men's division and Abby Kendall the women's, but the real winners of the Wild Flower 5K held Saturday morning at Green Valley Park were the 50 entrants in the three-mile-plus event.

I read your editorial regarding the tragedy at Littleton, Colo. Although I am in agreement with you on the necessity of making sure that personally owned firearms do not end up in the hands of an irresponsible child, I would offer this for thought:

As the year 2000 approaches, Arizonans need to know whether their Social Security checks will arrive on time, whether their small business will face disruption, whether "911" emergency services will remain up and running. Government and private sector preparations for Y2K and what you should be doing to prepare were covered at a congressional forum I sponsored in Phoenix recently. Here are some highlights:

About 40 people showed up on a cold and rainy Friday night at the Payson High School auditorium to hear Payson school officials talk about safety measures now in place and what they plan to do to protect students.

Payson has been basking in much-deserved glory since the Longhorn football team wrapped up its unbeaten, state championship season in October by ending Blue Ridge's state-record 54-game winning streak.

Marge Landra, one of the most accomplished golfers in Payson Women's Golf Association history, hooked up with Jennie Stevens, Dorothy Back and Cheryl Kennedy to win the championship of a best-ball tournament contested April 27 at Payson Golf Course.